Chapter 309

Long Xi Yue let out a faint sigh and said, "Even if I followed you running over the mountains, it's better than staying in this place where you never see daylight."

Hu Xiaotian's heart jolted; he thought Long Xi Yue had seen him, but after a moment's thought, there was no possibility—he clung to the pitch-black well wall like a gecko, and even with superb eyesight Long Xi Yue couldn't see him.

Long Xi Yue sat down on the well rim, plucked a chrysanthemum, crushed its petals, and tossed them piece by piece into the well. Hu Xiaotian lifted his head to gaze at her silhouette in the moonlight, almost intoxicated, but he didn't expect a petal to drift onto the area above his nostrils; his nose itched unbearably, and he couldn't hold back—achoo! That sneeze was earth‑shaking, for it was night and he was inside the well shaft, which gave excellent acoustics.

Long Xi Yue never expected anyone to be in the well; she was frightened, her face drained of color, her delicate body trembled. She had meant to turn and flee, but in her panic her foot slipped and she fell into the well opening. Hu Xiaotian was quick‑eyed and quick‑handed; he thrust out his right arm and caught her around the waist, while he dug his left hand deep into a crevice in the well wall, exerting all his strength to avoid falling together with Long Xi Yue into the depths.

Long Xi Yue let out a sharp cry; as soon as she sounded, a familiar voice said, "Don't cry out, it's me!"

From the voice Long Xi Yue judged it was Hu Xiaotian; her heart was both startled and delighted, but she quickly sobered from the brief joy—how could he be here? Her beautiful eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness inside the well, and by the moonlight filtering in from the opening she clearly recognized the person before her as undoubtedly Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian listened closely; there was no movement outside. It seemed Long Xi Yue's sharp cry hadn't attracted much attention, so he lowered his voice and said, "I'll boost you up."

Long Xi Yue whispered, "How did you end up here?"

"This is a long story—get up first, then we'll talk!"

Hu Xiaotian had Long Xi Yue climb up along his body. After some effort, she scrambled up his back to his shoulders, her feet pressing on his shoulders, her hands gripping the well rim. Hu Xiaotian slowly climbed upward, boosting her bit by bit. Long Xi Yue finally made it out of the well rim; after this ordeal her hair was disheveled and her pretty face flushed. Just then a figure hurried over from afar—it was her personal maid, Zijuan.

Long Xi Yue had meant to reach out and help Hu Xiaotian climb up, but seeing Zijuan approach, she hastily coughed twice to signal him not to climb up at that moment.

Seeing Long Xi Yue sitting on the well rim, Zijuan couldn't help but feel a little panicked and said, "Princess, why are you sitting there? Hurry up and get up—if you fall in, it'll be trouble."

Long Xi Yue rose and said, "I just want to be alone for a while. You don't need to worry about me—I can take care of myself."

Zijuan still wanted to advise her, but the usually gentle and tranquil Long Xi Yue unexpectedly flared up, scolding, "Didn't you hear me? All of you get out—I don't need your service tonight; I just want to be alone and calm."

Zijuan was clearly frightened by Long Xi Yue's sudden anger; she lowered her head and timidly said, "Princess, please don't be angry. I'll take my leave now."

After Zijuan left, Long Xi Yue went over and closed the inner courtyard gate. Only after finishing that did she return to the well side. Hu Xiaotian was beginning to lose strength; Long Xi Yue reached her hand into the well opening and whispered, "I'll pull you up."

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said, "Never mind—better not raise suspicions; I'll come find you another day." As he spoke he backed downwards; after retreating two steps he recalled something and whispered to Long Xi Yue, "You must absolutely not tell anyone about this, or my life will be in danger."

Long Xi Yue bit her lip; although she was intensely curious how he had gotten here and guessed that the well below was probably connected to a secret passage, she knew that with her own abilities she could hardly follow him to investigate. She could only watch from the well rim as Hu Xiaotian's receding figure grew farther away, and a vague melancholy rose in her heart as she called down into the well, "Be careful……"

A smile of understanding curled Hu Xiaotian's lips; Long Xi Yue's admonition to be careful meant she would certainly not betray him, and his charm was truly off‑the‑charts—even as a eunuch he could make the princess feel such affection for him; if she knew he was a proper man, she'd surely fall head over heels for him.

When one feels good about oneself, the mood improves; when the mood improves, fatigue vanishes instantly. Hu Xiaotian felt light as a swallow, and in the blink of an eye he scrambled back into the secret passage. Before leaving, he couldn't help but glance up at the well opening—Long Xi Yue's pretty face was already blurred, yet she was still there watching him.

Upon returning to the Imperial Gardens Bureau it was already deep night, all quiet. Hu Xiaotian opened the cellar door, took out a jug of wine, and headed out. Just as he reached his own room, he saw Shi Xuedong and Xiao Zhuozi rushing over in a fluster, Shi Xuedong gasping out, "No…… not good……"

Xiao Zhuozi was also out of breath, though not as badly as Shi Xuedong, and he continued Shi Xuedong's words: "Little Dengzi has been beaten!"

Hu Xiaotian frowned. Little Dengzi had been assigned to maintain the imperial gardens—the same area Wang Desheng used to oversee—but lately he rarely came to the Imperial Gardens Bureau. This lad was usually mild‑mannered and quite perceptive; how could he suddenly be attacked?

"What crime did he commit?" Hu Xiaotian's first thought was that Little Dengzi had done something wrong and was being punished.

Xiao Zhuozi shook his head and said, "He didn't do anything wrong; supposedly he killed the chrysanthemum that Empress Jian liked most, so he got beaten."

Hu Xiaotian seethed inwardly; again it was Empress Jian— that old woman really lacks sense. After thinking calmly, this matter probably isn't ordinary; Empress Jian has no reason to make things difficult for a low-ranking eunuch.

Shi Xuedong finally caught his breath at this moment, he angrily said, "It was Wang Decai's grandson who brought people to beat him; he went over to find Wang Decai, and when Xiao Dengzi was speaking he offended him, so he and his gang swarmed over and beat Xiao Dengzi up, even breaking his arm—they really were vicious."

Hu Xiaotian said, "What about Xiao Dengzi?"

Xiao Zhuozi said, "Sent to the Imperial Medical Institute to set the bone; the bone has been set, and they let him stay there temporarily to recover. But we can't decide whether to tell Eunuch Liu."

Hu Xiaotian furrowed his brows and said, "Eunuch Liu already has plenty of troubles; we shouldn't add to his worries."

Shi Xuedong said, "Brother, Wang Decai has always suspected that we hid his brother away; he's constantly thinking about how to deal with us—we can't keep yielding like this."

Hu Xiaotian said, "He's a favorite of the Empress; we simply can't kill him." He was pondering, it's time to eliminate this trouble; for now he doesn't know whether Wang Decai is aware of the underground passageway; judging from the current situation, Wang Desheng probably hasn't had time to tell him this secret, but everything must be considered thoroughly. Since Wang Decai today could use the Empress to summon himself to the Xin Ning Palace, who knows what trouble he'll cause in the future; a spear is easy to dodge, a hidden arrow hard to guard against; making a living in this palace is already difficult, where would he find the energy to constantly guard against this villain.

Hu Xiaotian thought it over; the most reliable solution was to join forces with Qiqi— as long as Qiqi is willing to help, getting rid of Wang Decai would be effortless.

Hu Xiaotian's first priority was to deal with Quan De'an; seeing that his ultimatum was about to arrive, Hu Xiaotian went to the Four Seasons Dry Goods Store at the appointed time with the map he had drawn. Quan De'an was indeed waiting there, and Hu Xiaotian presented the map with both hands.

Quan De'an looked at the map, couldn't help furrowing his brow, and pointing at the middle passageway said in a low voice, "Does this passageway lead to a well opening?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "Yes!"

Which well opening is it?

Hu Xiaotian gave a wry smile and said, "Eunuch Quan, who knows how many wells there are in this palace? I stumbled into the well cavity in the dead of night—how would I know where it is? Moreover, the well walls are damp and slippery; with my meager skills, you should know I have no ability to climb up; if anything, this is your fault."

Quan De'an furrowed his brow and said, "What business is it of the Zajia?"

"Last time I asked you to teach me some lightness skills; I didn't expect to learn those high-level martial arts like treading snow without a trace, stepping on lotus leaves to cross water; I only wanted to learn how to climb roofs and scale walls, but you're just too stingy, actually keeping secrets from me. Poor me, I wanted to investigate something thoroughly for you, but lacking the ability, I could only sigh in vain by the well."

Quan De'an snorted coldly; this guy's eloquence is truly formidable, the Senior Eunuch had no mood to argue with him, knowing he couldn't win the debate, his bird-claw-like finger pointed to another passageway on the map and said, "Where does this lead?"

Hu Xiaotian concealed the fact about Zilan Palace, not daring to lie about the other two places, and said in a low voice, "I have investigated this place thoroughly; it leads to the Cangshuge."

"Cangshuge?" Quan De'an's deep eyes flashed with a strange glint.

Hu Xiaotian nodded.

"Have you gone inside?"

"No, I crawled to the end and found only a hole connecting to the Cangshuge; that hole is only as wide as a bowl's mouth—I'm not a mouse, how could I squeeze in?"

Quan De'an narrowed his eyes and said, "Do you know which level of the Cangshuge that hole actually leads to?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said, "I'm not sure, but I heard someone speaking inside—one was Eunuch Li, the other a leader surnamed Li."

"What were they saying?" Quan De'an showed great concern about this.

Hu Xiaotian said, "That leader surnamed Li was on his way to deliver the Dakang Tongjian; he also said he wanted to borrow from Eunuch Li something like the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, claiming it was hand-copied by Emperor Taizong."

Quan De'an said, "The Dakang Tongjian was compiled by the Grand Historian Qiu Qingshan; it's currently up to volume five, and it should be located on the third level of the Cangshuge."

Hu Xiaotian had never met the Grand Historian Qiu Qingshan before, but he had previously dealt with his two sons; speaking of which, it was at the Mist-Water Pavilion where he attended a poetry gathering and severely punished Qiu Qingshan's two sons, Qiu Zhigao and Qiu Zhitang.

Four more uploaded, knowing everyone's monthly tickets are scarce, Zhangyu wants to ask everyone for a favor; today I don't know who I offended, the rating votes were maliciously downvoted, suddenly dropping from 9.9 to 9.0; every VIP reader should have free rating votes in hand, hoping everyone will cast a few more rating votes to give the Medical Union a fair rating! (To be continued…)